Debevoise & Plimpton LLP announces that Matthew Dickman, Spencer Gilbert, Simone Hicks, Emily Huang, Nicholas Pellicani, Ryan Rafferty, Zachary Saltzman, J. Michael Snypes, Jr. and Erica Weisgerber will become partners of the firm, effective July 1. Taking into account this year’s class of partner promotions, women represent more than 40% of all internal promotions to partnership at the firm since 2008.
Matthew Dickman is based in the London office and a member of the firm’s Investment Management Group. He advises on the formation, management and reorganization of private investment funds, and as a leader in the firm’s Alternative Assets Transactions and Liquidity Solutions Group, he advises fund sponsors and investors on general partner staking transactions, seed investments and secondary transactions. Mr. Dickman received his B.A. in 2000 from Dartmouth College, his M.B.A. in 2007 from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and his J.D. in 2007 from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He is admitted to the Bar in New York and California.
Spencer Gilbert is based in the New York office and a member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group. He advises on acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures for private equity firms, their portfolio companies and corporate clients. Mr. Gilbert received his B.A. summa cum laude from New York University in 2010 and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2013.
Simone Hicks is based in the Washington, D.C office and a member of the firm’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group. She advises companies in a range of industries on executive compensation and employee benefits matters in merger and acquisitions, and on design and disclosure of compensation plans and programs. Ms. Hicks received her B.A. from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2007 and her J.D. cum laude from Hofstra School of Law in 2012.
Emily Huang is based in the New York office and a member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group. She advises private equity firms and corporate clients in connection with mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions across a broad range of industries. Ms. Huang received her A.B. magna cum laude from Dartmouth College in 2009 and her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 2012.
Nicholas Pellicani is based in the New York office and a member of the firm’s Capital Markets Group. He focuses on securities laws and capital markets transactions, as well as a broad range of corporate governance matters, and regularly represents issuers and sponsors in transactions such as initial public offerings, high-yield debt offerings, tender offers and private placements. Mr. Pellicani received his B.S. cum laude from Boston College in 2004 and his J.D. from St. John’s School of Law magna cum laude in 2011.
Ryan Rafferty is based in the New York office and a member of the firm’s Finance Group. He advises private equity clients and their portfolio companies on complex acquisition and leveraged finance transactions, including syndicated bank loan and high-yield bond transactions. Mr. Rafferty received his B.S. from Merrimack College in 2009 and his J.D. cum laude from The George Washington University Law School in 2012.
Zachary Saltzman is based in the New York office and a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Group. He focuses on asset management litigation and complex contractual disputes, representing hedge fund and private equity clients, as plaintiffs and defendants, in complex, high-stakes litigation. From 2013 to 2014, Mr. Saltzman clerked for the Hon. Chief Judge Carol B. Amon of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He received his B.A. summa cum laude from New York University in 2008 and his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 2012.
J. Michael Snypes, Jr. is based in the New York office and a member of the firm’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group. He focuses on a broad range of executive compensation and employee benefits matters, advising public and private companies, management teams and private equity investors on compensation and benefits-related issues in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, management buyouts, securities offerings and corporate restructurings. Mr. Snypes received his B.S. with Honors and Distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1995, his Master of Accounting from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler School of Business in 1996 and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2006.
Erica Weisgerber is based in the New York office and a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Group. She focuses on bankruptcy litigation, representing debtors, creditors and other parties in complex litigation arising in and out of bankruptcy cases, and antitrust matters, including representing plaintiffs and defendants in antitrust litigation and clients before the antitrust agencies in government reviews of proposed transactions. From 2009 to 2010, she clerked for the Hon. Joseph Bianco of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Ms. Weisgerber received her A.B. magna cum laude from Georgetown University in 2005 and her J.D. magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2008.